Pakistan

The government of Pakistan is a keen pursuer of bilateral trade and investment agreements. It has a full FTA with Sri Lanka (2005), a PTA with Iran (2004) and Mauritius (2007), Early Harvest Schemes with China (2005) and Malaysia (2007), and is part of both ECOTA and SAFTA. It is in various stages of FTA talks, or preparations for talks, with Brunei, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco, Singapore, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia, Nepal, China, Turkey and Russia (among others). In July 2006, it signed a Framework Agreement on Trade with Mercosur.

Negotiations on a US-Pakistan bilateral investment treaty, as a step towards a US-Pakistan FTA, have been quite controversial and are unconcluded. After talks restarted in mid-2010, a draft US-Pakistan BIT was sent for approval to Pakistan’s Cabinet in April 2012. The Pakistani government has already signed almost 50 BITs with other countries. In 2011 Germany ratified a BIT with Pakistan.

On a wider scale, there is talk of possible Pakistani FTAs with Afghanistan, Algeria, the EU, Japan, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Tunisia.

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The new tax measures being agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) coupled with the negative impact of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement-II (CPFTA-II) are likely to hit the country’s already poorly performing manufacturing sector.

Pakistan has sought an intensified engagement with the US in the economic and trade cooperation, emphasising the need for early convening of next round of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

Pakistan and China are holding a two-day (April 9-10, 2019) parleys in Beijing to finalise second phase of China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), which is expected to attract criticism from domestic industry.

A controversy has erupted over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) following allegations that the Pakistani government has diverted funds for joint infrastructure development projects with China under BRI to other projects.

A component of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor would prevent fishermen from fishing on Gwadar’s eastern port, which had been the only source of income for centuries. The Fishermen Alliance has announced that its protests will continue.

China and Pakistan are reportedly inching towards a deal on Balance of Payment (BoP) support with commercial loans and the second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) expected to be finalised prior April, 2019

17-May-2019PIANGO

Despite the failures of the EPA to deliver real development to Pacific countries it looks as though the European Union will once again, through the Post Cotonou Agreement, push for enhanced and undistorted access for European investments to Pacific resources.

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